I have something today that I am SO happy to finally be showing you guys. This is a project that consumed my entire fall quarter of junior year. Many, many hours went into this extensive design project. Some nights I even had the privilege of staying up until 4:30 AM cutting out each individual picture on this board and then carefully gluing them on! Such a treat, let me tell ya. But it was absolutely worth it and so rewarding in the end!
Our job was to fully design two rooms in the Seattle Design Center. My class was divided up into three teams, each doing the same project. We were given detailed instructions on what the clients wanted these spaces to include, and we were also required to choose pieces primarily from the Seattle Design Center. I'll be honest, I felt a little bit like I was on Design Star. Just a little.
The first space was a really tiny and awkward shaped room for designers to use as a lounge. Our main instructions were to incorporate an eating area, a separate seating area, and lots of storage.
Our design all started with a bookshelf. A glorious bookshelf. We first saw it while wandering through J. Garner Home, getting a tour of the Design Center. We loved it and knew we had to have it in one of our spaces. We measured first, of course, and the dimensions fit PERFECTLY for the room. It. Was. Fate. (The bookshelf can also be found at Restoration Hardware, by the way).
Finding this piece really set the tone for the rest of the space, which ended up being a mix of industrial, modern, and traditional styles. We tried to choose a lot of timeless pieces to make sure the design would last for years!
We found a traditional arm chair at MJ Interiors and chose to upholster it in a super soft herringbone print.
We found some great architectural drawings to frame as art in the room, perfect for designers!
The second space was a place for designers to come in and eat lunch or work on their design projects. The floor was concrete. The clients encouraged us to save money and keep the floors. We agreed and kept the floor but stained it bold, dark red color.
We created three workspaces with some beautiful metal desks from Dennis Miller, paired with olive colored chairs from Crate and Barrel. Above each desk was a shelf that could either display art or be switched out for the display of color boards.
The small cafe table proved to be the most challenging piece to find. We needed a table that a wheelchair could easily pull up to (between about 29-34 inches off the ground). I don't even want to know how many hours we spent searching for that table! Finally, we found a perfect adjustable height table.
Since designers would come into this room to eat their packed lunch, we incorporated a universally designed kitchenette unit with space for a microwave and miniature fridge. I loved how this elevation turned out! We chose all the finishes, which included brown quartz countertops, gray cabinets, and white subway tile. Aaand an amazing hammered metal bar sink that I kind of love and adore.
And in case you were wondering what those dashed lines are on the cabinet doors, they actually just represent the direction that the doors swing.
So there it is! My team was really happy with the end result of both rooms and we learned so much in the process.
Also, I got a peek today of some of the senior's Commercial Studio projects, which is looking like it will be 10 times more intense than this project was. An entire hotel. Dun dun dun. A little daunting. But I'll be sure to show you that whole process as I go. I can't wait!
